Family in love decides to send their 20-year-old goldfish for surgery

Friday, February 17, 2017

Love for pets is universal but in this case the pet is a goldfish with a tumour and the family in love went to the extent of sending her for surgery to save her life.

The average lifespan of a goldfish kept in a bowl is around 5-10 years. With extremely good care, the fish can live longer. Obviously this family had taken extremely good care, for their goldfish, named Bob, to have lived to 20 years. The family must have truly grown very fond of it and that is the reason, when they noticed a lump on its fin, they decided to take it to the vet and follow her advice.

Dr. Faye Bethell was a well-known vet, based in Norfolk, England. She suggested that the lump was a tumor and would need to be surgically removed. The family agreed to go through with the surgery, and happily bore the expenses of around $250/- for their dear family member. According to Toll Barn Veterinary Facebook page, the surgery lasted for around 30 minutes.

“The option was to remove the lump or put him to sleep and now he is doing brilliantly,” Dr Bethell stated. “Bob’s owners were really pleased because the goldfish is older than their children and he’s very much considered part of the family.”

Performing the surgery was a challenge due to the miniature size of the patient. The vet connected a miniature heart-rate monitor, anesthetized the fish, and carried out the operation with micro-surgical equipment. “It’s pretty complicated because everything is so small.” She added: “This one was the oldest fish we’ve operated on… Bob’s now back home and enjoying swimming properly for the first time in weeks.”

“We are definitely seeing pets living longer,” stressed Dr Bethell. “It’s really nice when you get an owner who wants to save them and great to help.”

The expert vet performed a 30 minute surgery on Bob the goldfish

Source: Toll Barn Veterinary Facebook page

“The option was to remove the lump or put him to sleep and now he is doing brilliantly”

Source: Toll Barn Veterinary Facebook page

“Bob’s owners were really pleased because… he’s very much considered part of the family”

Source: Toll Barn Veterinary Facebook page

“It’s pretty complicated because everything is so small”

Source: Toll Barn Veterinary Facebook page

“Bob’s now back home and enjoying swimming properly for the first time in weeks”

Source: Toll Barn Veterinary Facebook page

“We are definitely seeing pets living longer… It’s really nice when you get an owner who wants to save them”

Source: Toll Barn Veterinary Facebook page

This story has been sourced from the Toll Barns Veterinary Facebook page.